THE LIST; Naples: An Insider's Address Book

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PICK-ME-UPS

For more than 200 years, Pintauro, a marble-countered bakery, has based its fame on sfogliatelle, crisp layers of pastry fanned around fruit-studded ricotta filling -- the ultimate textural treat. 275 Via Toledo (telephone: 081-417339).

Intra Moenia fancies itself Naples's own literary cafe, with a sideline publishing charming books about the city. Relax with a Solimene platter of snappy insalata caprese on the umbrellaed terrace fronting the Piazza Bellini, one of the rare patches of green in historic Naples. By day it is the center of the book trade; at night its sidewalks seethe with those headed for the nearby clubs. 70 Piazza Bellini (081-290720).

With paternity claims to pizza, Naples measures the best purveyors by the lines outside. Skip the overhyped Brandi and opt for Da Michele. Take a ticket and wait for one of the 50-odd places at the marble tables under fluorescent lights. The menu offers two choices, both superlative: margherita (tomato, cow's milk mozzarella and basil) or marinara (tomato, oregano and garlic, no cheese). 1/3 Via C. Sersale (081-5539204). $6 a person. Closed Sunday.

After sampling the legendary gelati at Chalet Ciro in Mergellina, Bilancione in Posillipo and La Scimmia on the Piazza Carità, we were convinced that Scaturchio churns Naples's most flavorful gelati -- lush counterpoints to its famed ministeriale (a rum-filled chocolate disk). 19 Piazza San Domenico Maggiore (081-5516944).

RESTAURANTS

If you've forgotten the earthy savor of eggplant parmigiana that launched your taste for Italian cooking, stop by Da Ettore. This casual restaurant is also the place for pagnottiello, a turnover made of pizza dough wrapped around a filling of, say, melting mozzarella and prosciutto. 56 Via Santa Lucia (081-7640498). $25 a person (this and restaurant prices below include wine). Closed Sunday.

English is neither spoken nor understood, but good will and well-being prevail in the back room of a wine bar called La Campagnola. Scribble your order, chosen from among the homey dishes on the blackboard. Fusilli dressed with tomatoes, olives and salad greens and lemon chicken are the perfect antidote to antiquities-overload at the nearby Museo Archeologico Nazionale or the Greco-Roman underground city. Choose your wine from among the open bottles. 47 Via Tribunali (081-459034). Lunch only. $25 a person. Closed Sunday.

In the evening, clamber up the steep steps to Pizzofalcone, the hill above the harbor where the Greeks first settled, to discover zucchini-blossom-and-saffron risotto at Amici Miei. Wood-grilled meats dominate the main courses, but ask for a side of friarielli, a variety of broccoli rabe particular to Italy's Campania region. 77/78 Via Monte di Dio (081-7646063). $30 a person. Closed Sunday evening and Monday.

At noisy Dora, the fish is fresh because the family nets it daily. Clad in everything from sweatshirts to pinstripes with elegant Marinella ties, all Naples comes to enjoy the place, choosing fish poached in spicy acqua pazza (''crazy water''), grilled over charcoal or fried. Hope that orata (gilthead bream, a firm-fleshed white fish) is part of the day's catch. 28/29 Via Palasciano (081-680519). $45 a person. Closed Sunday.

In a city that conspicuously cherishes its past, the Starckian minimalism at Vadinchenia comes as a shock -- and is acutely welcome to some. The food is as airy as the decor, with a good Campanian wine list. If you visit in autumn, sample the chestnut ice cream. 21 Via Pontano (081-660265). $45 a person. Closed Sunday.

Check for a full moon, reserve at La Sacrestia, unpack your knockout finery and make an evening of it. This theatrically decorated, elegant old villa has a romantic terrace overlooking the Bay of Naples and a chef with an innovative way with pasta and fish (imagine John Dory in basil cream with arugula and pomodorini, the piquant small local tomatoes). 116 Via Orazio (081-7611051). $50 a person. Closed Monday.

After performances at the Teatro San Carlo, many in the glittering audience adjourn to the upstairs dining room at Ciro a Santa Brigida for such old-fashioned Neapolitan specialties as ragù a puntino (a pungent green) and sartù di riso (a rice timbale with meat, peas and mozzarella). 71/73 Via Santa Brigida (081-5524072). Closed Sunday. $40 a person.

Today buried in tourists, poor Pompeii seems an unlikely setting for the most intriguing cooking in the immediate Naples area. Marco and Pina Carli have made Il Principe a destination for those who enjoy both the anchovy sauce (garum) and honeyed sweets of ancient Rome and the seafood, vegetables and cheeses that are the stars of Campania's larder. 8 Piazza Bartolo Longo (081-8505566). $60 a person. Closed Sunday evening and Monday.

NIGHTLIFE

Their elders cling to the old ways, but the city's young and beautiful boogie late into the night at Velvet Garage, where the music runs from jazz to rap. 11 Via Cisterna dell'Olio. Small entrance fee. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

SHOPPING

Fashion has come round, returning 60's sandals to its inner circle. And the very best of these bright leather-and-cork creations are custom-made by L'Artigiano Sandali, who supplied Jackie when she was still Kennedy. Orders can be ready within four days, and prices start at about $60. 23 Via Belledonne a Chiaia (081-414698).

Neapolitan men delight in cutting a bella figura, helped by world-famous (and fabulously expensive) tailors like Kiton. Custom-stitched shirts from Merolla & de L'Ero, a small ground-floor shop within the Palazzo Calabritto, are one way to complete the panoply. Prices begin at about $100. 20 Via Calabritto (081-7643012).

Don't be bashful about braving the doorman and turning left in the courtyard of the grand apartment building and climbing that flight of stairs to Amina Rubinacci's elegant boutique. Her cashmere and silk knits, with necklines that flatter, come in what always prove to be next year's must-have colors. Prices begin at about $300. 16 Via dei Mille (081-415672).

True, Naples is a treasure house of 18th- and 19th-century antiques, but Bachelite has made its name selling Art Deco furnishings, from splendid silver coffee services to tables worth shipping back to America. 2 Via Belledonne a Chiaia (081-411860).

Egraphe's shelves overflow with handsome notebooks, wrapping papers and the same watermarked stationery that has been made in Amalfi since the Middle Ages. Piazza L. Miraglia (081-446266).

HOTELS

Unlike the big hotels arrayed on the Via Partenope along the harbor, the Grand Hotel Parker's sits high up the Vomero hill, providing a panorama of both the bay and the city itself. The 83 antiques-filled rooms have recently been smartened up and wired for computers, though those on lower floors still suffer from traffic noise. George's, the rooftop restaurant, has one of the city's better chefs. 135 Corso Vittorio Emanuele (081-7612474; fax: 081-663527). Doubles from $240.

The Miramare, close to the historic center, lives up to its name. Who can take their eyes off the sea and Vesuvius, both visible from the majority of the hotel's 30 rooms? The caring welcome of Enzo Rosolino (and his Skye terrier, Gavroche) compensates for the sometimes worn Liberty decor. On a fine day, breakfast on the rooftop terrace is memorable. 24 Via Nazario Sauro (081-7647589; fax: 081-7640775). Doubles from $205.

Suite Esedra is a haven of serenity in its frenzied but central Corso Umberto I neighborhood, with 17 fresh rooms, including 2 suites. 12 Via Cantani (telephone and fax: 081-5537087). Doubles from $100.

In spite of their location in a palazzo, the accommodations at the Soggiorno Sansevero are not palatial. The five air-conditioned rooms, each with bath, are operated on a bed-and-breakfast basis, making them ideal for those who want to immerse themselves in old Naples. 9 Piazza San Domenico Maggiore (081-5515742; fax 081-211698 ). Doubles are $80.

EXCURSION

Pack a picnic and take off in a rental car for the Campi Flegrei, about a half-hour's drive to the west of Naples, to discover one of history's most exquisite small buildings, the Casina Reale del Fusaro. Built in 1782 for King Ferdinand IV and his second wife, Lucia Migliaccio, by Carlo Vanvitelli, this theatrical two-story Rococo hunting lodge shimmers like a mirage a little more than a hundred feet out in Lake Fusaro. You can spread your lunch on the shore. The casina is said to have inspired Rossini's ''Lady of the Lake.'' Open daily, 9 a.m. until an hour before sunset (081-8687080).

ONLINE

Assure yourself a seat at Italy's oldest opera house, the Teatro San Carlo, by booking at www.teatrosancarlo.it. The season runs from September through June, and individual ticket prices range from $40 to $170.

ALERT

As in any big city, pack your street smarts and leave your Rolex and diamonds

at home. Park passports and plane tickets in a hotel safe and conceal your plastic

and walking-around money about your immediate person. Although petty crime in Naples has been reduced in recent years, pickpockets still abound, and wearing good jewelry or expensive watches is an invitation.

THE ESSENCE

A setting that captivated the Greeks and Romans, Baroque churches and grand palazzi, song and sfogliatelle and citizens who embrace life -- Naples is wonderful. Use these addresses for an up-to-the-minute Grand Tour.

PICNIC STRATEGY

Herculaneum, an ancient city near Pompeii, is underendowed in luncheon temptations. The worldly-wise pack a picnic, selecting fruit and vegetables at the Mercatino San Pasquale, smoked fish and cheeses like provola (smoked mozzarella) and caciocavallo at Arfè, 31 Via San Pasquale (081-411822); loaves at Moccia, 21 Via San Pasquale (081-411348; closed Tuesday); and a bottle of Taurasi red (about $15 to $25) before catching the Circumvesuviana railway.

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A version of this article appears in print on , Section 6, Page 6 of the National edition with the headline: THE LIST; Naples: An Insider's Address Book. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe